


Last Known Good

by Minutia_R



Category: The Dragon Never Sleeps - Glen Cook
Genre: Canon Temporary Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-11
Updated: 2014-04-11
Packaged: 2018-01-18 23:45:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1447333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minutia_R/pseuds/Minutia_R
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If they were at Starbase--If the Ku hadn’t devastated it to the point where it might be centuries before the data stored there could be accessed normally--they might have had an AnyKaat years closer to motherhood, who’d never seen her son turn away from her in confusion and fear, never set foot on Merod Schene.  AnyKaat and Degas, a matched set of parents for <i>Gemina.</i>  He wouldn’t be a ghost to her then.</p>
<p>
  <i>She’d be a stranger to me.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Last Known Good

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hokuto](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hokuto/gifts).



Jo watched as the lid of the cell opaqued with moisture. AnyKaat was breathing. The fear that something, somehow, would go wrong loosened its hold on her chest. It was dumb, baseless, that fear, but at least Jo understood what it was.

Her other fears--

AnyKaat raised a hand, and Jo half-expected to see her scrawl an obscenity in the condensation. But she wasn’t a soldier, for whom death and resurrection were annoyances as routine as tight-ass officers (of which Jo was now one) or Ops fuck-ups.

_It would be like having his ghost_ , AnyKaat had said, when Jo’d suggested reviving Degas.

And Jo had said, _There’s a way around that too._

If they were at Starbase--If the Ku hadn’t devastated it to the point where it might be centuries before the data stored there could be accessed normally--they might have had an AnyKaat years closer to motherhood, who’d never seen her son turn away from her in confusion and fear, never set foot on Merod Schene. AnyKaat and Degas, a matched set of parents for _Gemina._ He wouldn’t be a ghost to her then.

_She’d be a stranger to me._

Didn’t matter either way. Here and now was where they were.

The lid opened, and AnyKaat sat up, scrubbing at her forehead with the heel of her hand. “Oh hell, I feel . . .really, really good. Don’t think I’ve ever woken up feeling this good in my life.” She looked around, eyes getting bigger as she took in the cell, the warming room, her own nakedness. Trying to make sense of the situation, latching on to the one thing she knew. “Jo.” And then, “I died, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” said Jo.

“Shit.” AnyKaat drew up her knees, frowned into them. “We were going to capture the boarders from that rider, and it all went to hell. There was a grenade . . . I don’t remember.”

Jo sat down gingerly on the opened-up cell, which now resembled a bed, in the space left by AnyKaat’s legs. Didn’t offer to touch her; she had combat nerves still, maybe. “You wouldn’t. You died on _Gemina_ , so the records go up to time-of-death, but you never remember dying.”

“Why?” said AnyKaat.

_Fuck if I know._ It was a defense mechanism of the mind, probably. Stupid brain tricks. But that wasn’t what AnyKaat was asking. She was asking, _why bring me back?_ “I asked for you,” said Jo.

AnyKaat quirked a smile. It was like watching her breathe again, knowing she still had that in her. “So what, are you WarAvocat now?”

“Not yet.” Jo chuckled--it was a joke, for AnyKaat. She had no concept of how much the world could change while you slept. “But--it’s _Gemina._ ”

“Well, yeah, I know which guardship--what about _Gemina_?”

“She spoke. Crew heard her. Spooked everyone real good.”

“Shit,” said AnyKaat again. She understood, the way most Crew wouldn’t even--she’d been on _IV Trajana_.

“Yeah, well,” said Jo. “You remember your kid--when Tobias said his first words?”

“Sure.” Emotions played across AnyKaat’s face, too fast for Jo to catch them all, pain and regret and fondness all mixed together. They didn’t talk about AnyKaat’s family, ever. “He said _Mama!_ plain as plain. Degas didn’t believe me, thought it was just more babble. They do that, you know, first. He sure had to admit Tobias was talking when he learned the word no, though.” AnyKaat uncurled as she talked, stretching her legs enough that her bare toes brushed Jo’s thigh. “So?”

“So, I told them--Strake and the rest of them--you’re the only one who does. Crew’s all sterile; we’ve never had any kids, most of us barely remember being kids, and there’s no putting _Gemina back_ the way she was. Hell, I’d’ve told them anything. The truth is--” Jo reached for AnyKaat’s hand, suddenly uncertain. She’d never had to say anything like this before. Your squad was your squad, and you were sure of them because of that. This was different. And not so different. AnyKaat took Jo’s hand in hers, warm, firm, solid, and Jo drew a breath and went on. “When the world’s going crazy all around me, I know who I want at my back. I missed you, AnyKaat.”

“Jo,” said AnyKaat. Squeezed her hand once, and didn’t let go, squeezed her eyes shut too. Tears leaked out of the corners. Her voice was shaky when she spoke. “How long has it been?”

“Not long,” Jo said. “Couple of months, only.”

“Months. Hell.” AnyKaat wiped her eyes with her free hand. “How the hell do you do this all the time? Dying. Coming back.”

Jo shrugged. “I Am A Soldier.”

AnyKaat pulled her hand away from Jo’s, wrapped her arms around herself instead. “Yeah, well, I’m not. I’m fucking not, okay?”

Jo looked over at AnyKaat, at her mop of dirty blonde hair above red-rimmed eyes and the soft curves of face and body that even Merod Schene couldn’t harden. _Yes, you are,_ she wanted to say. _You’re strong enough, you’re fast enough, you’re damned well tough enough._ But a soldier wasn’t what Gemina needed from AnyKaat. And Jo . . . wanted AnyKaat. Whoever she was.

“Okay,” said Jo. “If you don’t want this, if you--” Jo’s voice shook, it was fucking ridiculous, but she couldn’t leave this half-said. “If you off yourself. I’ll make sure it sticks. Your choice.”

“Hey, I didn’t say that.” AnyKaat scooted closer to Jo. “Listen to me, being such a drama queen. I mean, it’s just another damned thing, right?”

Jo moved her arm to make room, and AnyKaat leaned up against her. She didn’t seem to mind that Jo was clothed and she was naked. She saw where Jo’s eyes were going, tilted back her head and smiled, but she didn’t make jokes to cover her embarrassment like Crew did sometimes. AnyKaat was just comfortable.

Jo put a hand around her waist and pulled her closer. Rested her chin on top of AnyKaat’s head. Somewhere out there, the Ku still lived, and Jo was willing to bet he wouldn’t retire quietly. There were the methane breathers to deal with, and deadly politics among the Deified, and _Gemina_ was awake.

AnyKaat was right. Just like Merod Schene--as long as they had each other’s backs, it was all just another damned thing. “Yeah,” Jo said. “Yeah, we got this.”


End file.
